I'll Always Remember You
by CowabungaChick
Summary: Being held captive and tortured for "medical reasons" was getting old. They knew they were different. Their "mutations" made this crystal clear. But enough was enough. One day, Liza Montgomery decided she had to get herself and Cassidee King out of that government lab alive. No matter what the cost. *Warning: Eventual Liza/Turtle and Cassie/Turtle*
1. Genesis

**Hey guys! This is the newest creation straight from my brain. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own TMNT, just my OCs.**

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Chapter 1

"Food time girlies. This is the last thing yer gettin' before da tests tomorrow, so be sure ta savor it," A man snickered as he slid a cold plate of food under the thick steel door. His laugh grew farther and farther away as the man walked away from the cell door.

Inside of the chilled, barren room, the tray of food was left untouched. On it sat a single turkey sandwich, a bowl of fresh spinach, a pile of assorted berries, and a small square of chocolate.

"Eat it. You need it more than I do," A voice spoke sourly. Perched on their loft beds, sat two teenage girls. They stared in frustration and depression at the food in the middle of the room.

The entire room was white. White tile, white walls and ceiling, and even white furniture. The two loft beds were on silver steel frames but the comforters and sheets were as white as the walls. Under one of the loft beds was a white desk, complete with a white lamp and white chair. Beneath the other sat two white booth seats and a white table stuck in between them, acting as a dining set.

White jumpsuits adorned the bodies of the two victims and black numbers stamped to their chests.

"Eat it Cassie. All I have are memory tests going on tomorrow. Trust me, I don't need it," The voice, belonging to the eldest of the girls, repeated.

The girl across from her furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head defiantly.

The eldest sighed, her messy brown bangs falling in front of her face. "Just eat it Cassidee,"

After a few seconds, Cassie responded with another head shake.

Furious pale green eyes met mismatched ones. The eldest jumped down from her bed and walked towards the meal. Grabbing it, she practically threw it on the table under her bed and harshly sat in her seat.

She sighed. "How about I eat the spinach and you eat the rest. Spinach is supposedly good for my brain anyways," She suggested. A small, barely noticeable grin flashed on the youngest's face before she hopped down from her bed to join her friend.

The two ate in complete silence.

Soon finished with their daily meal, the girls just sat. The time on the clock read minutes until the lights in their cage would automatically shut off, signaling their bedtime.

"W-What's going to h-happen to us tomorrow…" A small, soft voice spoke up. The brunette looked up to see the strawberry blonde slightly shaking in fear. The eldest reached her hand across the table to grab her friends.

"What always happens on test days, Cassie," She stated calmly. "They just want to track the progress of our mutations. That's all."

"B-but… what if they… s-stick me again, Liza?" Cassie cringed. The one irrational fear of the light-haired girl was being experimented on and prodded with sharp objects. Cassie detested her testing days. They always involved being strapped to a lab table and poked with needles as the "researchers" took blood. Cassie's arms were covered in scares from these horrifying experiences.

Liza sighed again. "Just go to your happy place. They can't hurt you there, trust me," She gave her friend a reassuring smile before standing. "Let's get ready for bed."

Within a few short minutes the girls were as clean as they could be. They were aloud showers once a week, but their cell had a small sink and a toilet attached to one of the walls for brushing teeth and washing their faces. Since their cell was completely closed off from the outside world, the two would take turns every other day washing their entire body with a washrag, soap, and the sink. This made the wait for the shower trip considerably more bearable, yet still not as satisfying. The wardrobe on the opposite wall from the makeshift "bathroom" held two changes of clothes for the girls and two sets of white tank tops and white shorts, which were considered their night-clothes. At the end of each week, while the two girls were showering, their dirty clothes would be taken and washed for them.

This wall also held a book shelf. Granted the only books in there were mainly medical books and autobiographicals, but it still held a few classics. The Princess Bride by William Goldman, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, etc.

Thankfully, with Liza's memory, she could go through an entire book in complete detail while her testing was going on. That was her happy place. Book worlds. Being someplace other than locked up and tested on every week.

But sadly, the same couldn't be said for Cassie.

The lights in the room suddenly flickered off.

"Oh, not yet!" Cassie gasped. Liza quickly found her way over to her frightened friend and grabbed her hand.

"It's okay Cassie, I'm right here," Liza calmly, clearly stated. Cassie nodded her head as Liza escorted her to her loft. The familiar rungs of the latter were soon in her grip and she hauled herself up.

"Thanks Liza."

"Mhmm."

The girls were soon in bed, but Liza knew not to go to sleep yet, no matter how tired she was. Because until she heard the faint snores of the girl across the room, she couldn't bring herself to go to sleep. Hearing Cassie soundly asleep reassured Liza that a new day was on the verge of coming.

_One day closer to being out of this hell hole…_

Liza already had 578 days of her life wasted. She was abducted on April 18, 2012 at 11:34 a.m. right from her own home.

Cassie came about six months after her. September 30, 2012 at 8:07 a.m. was when they made Cassie Liza's roommate.

"Liza?"

"Yeah?"

Liza made sure to speak up when addressing her friend, for her hearing wasn't what it used to be. Due to Cassie's disease, she lost a lot of hearing in both of her ears. If she isn't facing a person, able to read their lips, she can barely hear them.

"I've been in here for 15 months."

Liza blinked a moment. Had it really been that long since Cassie joined her? Counting quickly on her fingertips, Liza confirmed the strawberry blonde's statement.

"Yeah. I'm sorry," Liza didn't know what else to say. Sure, she had been locked up longer, but Cassie was softer than her, more fragile. She had cried for days when she first came. Didn't speak for weeks. It was hard to believe that she had survived this long without going insane.

"Yeah. Me too," Cassie sighed. "Night Liza."

"Night."

After a few long minutes, Cassie's soft snores echoed in the room.

Liza still couldn't sleep though. She kept going back to what Cassie had said.

_I've been here for 15 months…_

Suddenly, Liza's eyebrows furrowed.

_And that's all you'll ever be in here for. Tomorrow, we're gone._

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**SO, I've had the design for Liza in my head for months now, I just haven't had a story to add her in, but now I finally have one! I hope you guys have enjoyed. This story is my favorite of mine so far. **

**I plan on having my Reader/Turtles stories up tomorrow. So do not fret, my dears!**

**Please, I enjoy positive feedback on my works! Tell me what I can improve, what you think of Liza and Cassie, and just everything in general!**

**Later guys!**

**CC**


	2. Freedom

**Chapter 2 is here! Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT, just my OCs.**

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Chapter 2

"What were you doing on July 6th of 2009? Explain every detail you can remember and other non-personal events that went on."

Liza thought for a moment, and then replied. "I was 12. I woke up at 6:13 a.m. due to a thunderstorm going on. I walked into the living room and my dad was watching the news. He told me the storm would be over soon and I fell asleep on his lap. Later that day we went to my grandparents to shoot off fireworks. That's about it."

The electrodes attached to Liza's temples fed information to the researcher's computer. It hadn't even been the required two hours yet and Liza could feel the rope tying her wrists to her chair rubbing her wrists raw. The researcher gave her a curt nod before moving onto the next card.

"Can you recall the events of your 15th birthday?"

Liza inwardly sighed while her mental filing cabinet went to work to find the memories.

* * *

"Heart rate is stable. Vitals are doing well."

"Very well. Let's draw some blood and then go to work. I want the amount of color in her irises to darken by the time we're through," A gruff voice stated. Cassie's eyes widen in horror.

"B-but… I thought this was just a routine blood sample test," She said in a small voice. The man in the dark glasses looked down at her for a brief moment before smiling. Cassie was scared. The tall man in the sunglasses and suit had been their supervisor since they were abducted. He would oversee all of their tests.

"Don't worry, my dear. It's just a small procedure requiring a very small needle to be inserted into your irises to add pigments to morph your eye colors. Not a problem," He shrugged. Cassie couldn't move. She couldn't even find her voice to scream. His smile vanished as he turned to the nurse. "I'm going to check up on the other one. I'll be back soon."

He left without another glance at the poor girl strapped to the lab table.

* * *

"And that's all that happened," Liza finished.

"Good," The researched smiled, but before she could pull out another card, Liza interrupted her.

"I need to use the bathroom."

The researcher blinked.

"You must wait," She answered simply.

Liza scoffed. "Fine. But when I release my urine all over this seat, I'm not the one cleaning it up."

The woman eyes Liza carefully. Liza just gave her the most convincing stare she could give her. Thankfully, the woman finally caved.

"Alright."

She stood and quickly untied Liza. Liza rubbed her red wrists before following after the woman. When they were in the bathroom, the woman held open the stall door for her prisoner. Liza cautiously walked into the stall and the woman shut the door behind her.

Liza's plan went into motion.

She looked down at her wrist watch, seeing it was five seconds to 21:40, she quickly used the bathroom to make her plan go smoother. To make the researcher believe that she was actually here to use the bathroom. Besides, the guards roaming the halls didn't walk by until 21:45.

As Liza flushed the toilet, she quickly and silently pulled the toilet tank cover off of its porcelain home.

Every researcher kept a stun gun on them. Just for when Liza and Cassie decided to do something like this.

"Are you done?" The researcher asked.

"Yes." Liza replied. She readied herself, grabbing a good grip on the tank cover.

The stall door opened, signaling Liza's time to move.

Liza jumped out of the stall and swung the porcelain cover at the researcher's head. Thankfully, her body fell to the ground unconsciously. Liza tried to control her breathing as she smiled to herself. She quickly took the stun gun off of the woman's waist and dragged her unconscious body into a stall. Liza looked at the clock. 21:44.

Liza ran to the door waited. Men's voices were getting nearer and nearer.

"I hope we get off at a decent time tonight."

"Yeah, me too. But you know we won't."

Liza timed the moment perfectly.

She jumped out of the bathroom door and quickly stunned one of the men. He fell down on his face. While the other man was temporarily shocked, Liza took him out too. She quickly drug both of their bodies into the girls' bathroom.

Liza undressed one of the men and put on his clothes as her disguise. She tucked her brown ponytail up into the hat and pulled the brim down closer to her face. Sure, it was a bit baggy, but it was the only way she could walk around the building without being immediately recognized. Liza holstered her stun gun before casually walking out of the bathroom.

Liza went the familiar path to Cassie's testing room as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself. In her mind, Liza was plotting out the entire building, trying to figure out the quickest escape route.

Finally arriving at the door, Liza could hear screams and protests coming from a voice that Liza assumed was Cassie's. Liza shuttered at the thought of them doing more tests on her friend.

_Okay Liza, one, two, three…_

Liza twisted the door knob and flew into the room. The surprised medical staff, a total of three people, quickly turned, but were all soon stunned and lying on the ground.

"Who's there!?" Cassie gasped, eyes tightly shut and every muscle of her body tensed up.

"Hey, it's just me Cassie," Liza replied gently.

"Liza!? What are you doing here?" Cassie inquired.

"We're getting out of here."

"W-What are you talking about?"

Liza pried off the bindings holding Cassie to the table. Cassie rubbed her raw wrists. They were ten times worse than Liza's; one of them was even bleeding. Liza took a piece of gauze from the metal tray and gingerly wrapped her friend's wrist. She helped Cassie off of the lab table quickly.

"Cassie, open your eyes, we have to go!"

Cassie violently shook her head. "I can't!"

"What do you mean?"

"T-They… They were doing tests on m-my eyes," Her bottom lip started to quiver as tears poured out of her shut eyes. "Tests involving n-needles."

Liza's mouth dropped. She was speechless. Cassie's worst nightmare had become a reality. Liza could see the tears streaming down Cassie's eyes had a bit of a red tint. This broke her out of her shock. She grabbed her friend's hand firmly.

"We've got to get you out of here and to a hospital," Liza led Cassie out of the room and to the nearest set of stairs. Carefully, she helped her currently blind friend down the building.

"Liza, we can't go to a hospital. We don't have any money," Cassie sighed.

"We'll figure something out," Liza simply replied. The two continued down the steps in silence. Suddenly, ear-piercing sirens rang throughout the building Red, flashing lights started going ballistic in the stairwell.

"What's going on?" Cassie asked frantically.

Liza looked around. "We have to get out of here," Liza pulled Cassie through the nearest door to another floor. Liza recognized this floor as the storage area. Crates and other tightly sealed packages were lying everywhere. Seeing no other escape, other than more stairs, Liza brought Cassie to an open window. Thankfully, the window led to a fire escape and the fire escape was close enough to a roof.

Liza heard footsteps coming down the stairs they had just come from. Sounded like many men sent to capture them.

"Cassie, we have to go onto a fire escape. It's the only way out,"

The brunette saw her friend's lip quiver, but she gave a curt nod. Liza quickly helped Cassie out of the floor and onto the fire escape. Liza followed her out. Through the darkness of the night, Liza saw the roof next to them wasn't far away, but it was at least a few feet.

The voices could be heard clearer now. The squad of security guards spotted the girls and started to quickly run to them.

"There they are! Get them!" One of the men exclaimed.

"Cassie! We have to jump! Now!" Liza yelled.

"Jump!? Where!?" Cassie gasped.

Liza pulled up herself onto the railing and leaped across the gap. She landed on her knees and rolled a few feet. She cursed as she saw the blood seeping out of her knees. Getting back on her feet, Liza went to the edge and held out her hand to her friend.

"Cassie, reach straight forward and grab my hand!" Liza ordered. The girl nodded and swiftly reached out. Liza grabbed her wandering hand, getting a firm grip. "Now, you need to jump! Climb up on the railing and jump towards my voice!"

"Liza! Are you crazy!? I can't do that while I can't see!" Cassie replied, exasperated.

"Cassie! You have to! NOW!" Liza screamed. Her eyes flickered back and forth from the approaching men to her horrified friend.

"L-Liza, I-I can't!"

"Come here girl!" A man growled as he reached for the youngest through the window. He got a good grip on Cassie's shirt and started dragging her backwards.

"CASSIE!" Liza yelled. Cassie let out and ear-piercing scream right before the man used his other hand to cover her mouth. Cassie was ripped right out of Liza's hands. "NO, CASSIE! LET HER GO!"

Liza knew it was all over. She had failed Cassie.

Suddenly, something went flying at Cassie and the man holding her. The items embedded themselves in the man's hands. Liza's eyes widened at the small, silver stars. The man recoiled his bleeding hands, freeing Cassie. The girl was stunned as she stumbled back.

Liza watched in horror as Cassie stumbled backwards in complete shock at her sudden release. Cassie slammed into the railing of the fire escape, falling backwards and over the rusty rail.

"CASSIE!" Cassie heard Liza scream for her. Everything fell into slow motion as she felt herself fall. Cassie screamed as she desperately flung her arms around, trying to find something to grab.

Cassie knew her seconds were numbered, so she said a quick prayer, pleading that Liza get out okay.

"Gottcha!" A voice cried.

Cassie felt her body suddenly stop in a strong pair of arms.

The initial shock of the sudden stop sent Cassie's head spinning. She felt the wind flying in her face as her savior ran. Suddenly, Cassie realized that she could in fact be in the arms of one of the security guards.

"LET ME GO!" She yelled, beating on him.

"Whoa! Chill! I'm taking you back to your friend! It's okay!" The person replied. Cassie felt her spinning head start to go blank and even though her eyes were already closed, she could feel the darkness flooding her mind.

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**Who saved Cassie? Does anyone have any idea? :O**

**Hope to hear from readers soon! Thanks! **

**See you later!**

**CC**


	3. Assurance

**Back with a speedy update guys! Enjoy! :3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT, just my OCs.**

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Chapter 3

"Are they going to be alright, Donny?"

Cassie woke with a furious pain in her eyes.

"They'll be fine, Mikey. They just need some rest."

_Oh no,_ She thought. _They? I hope they mean Liza's here too. And… Where are we? _

"Other than malnutrition and overall poor health, their other wounds should heal up soon. We need to get them a good meal when they wake up though. Think you could get that started up?"

"Sure!" Cassie heard footsteps exit the room, leaving it in uncomfortable silence.

_I hope Liza is here. Could they have taken her back to the lab? Guess there's only one way to find out…_

Cassie slowly pried her burning eyes open. She reached up to rub her orbs, but soon realized that was a much more painful task than at first thought. Thankfully, her eyes soon adjusted to the brightness of the lamp right above her, but her mind went into a panic.

_Oh no! I'm in another lab!_

Cassie quickly sat up, sending her head into a frenzy. Looking at another lab table next to her, she saw Liza still passed out. She reached over to wake the brunette, but a strange hand stopped her.

A strange, three-fingered, green hand…

"Please, it's okay. You're safe here. We're helping you," The owner of the hand spoke softly. Cassie slowly gazed up at the body in front of her. Her burning eyes widened in fear.

In front of her was a giant turtle! Cassie couldn't believe it. A walking, talking, humanoid turtle thing! It had a stick attached to its back and a purple mask wrapped around its face. Knee-pads, elbow-pads, and wrappings covered the rest of its body, something Cassie had only seen used on skaters or stunt workers.

She couldn't find her voice

Cassie scrambled away from the turtle very quickly, giving him a horrified look. He gently brought his hands up to ease her, but she could feel hot tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't cry," He said. "Honestly, we're trying to help. We saw you guys trying to escape that building and ran over to help. Don't be scared. We won't hurt you."

Cassie gulped. "W-We?" She asked in a very small voice.

It nodded. "My brothers and I. But it's okay, they won't hurt you either. We just want to help, Cassie."

"H-How do you k-know my name?" Cassie's eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm sorry, we heard you friend screaming it. We just assumed it was your name. Is it not?" He stared at her in confusion.

"N-No, it is."

He nodded slowly. "My name is Donny, Cassie. I want to help you."

Cassie glanced back and forth from him to Liza in worry. She didn't know what to do. Usually Liza made the tough decisions like this. Liza was good at judging people. She could usually tell if someone was telling the truth or not. Cassie had no clue at all. She started to get a headache from the combined power of her worry and the bad vision she was relying on.

The turtle-man saw her wince in pain and then walked over to his desk. He grabbed something and slowly brought it back over to her, still holding his hands up in defense.

"These are eye drops. They'll help your eyes. Here," He put them on the table Cassie was on and then took a step back, allowing her room to make her own decisions.

Normally, Cassie wouldn't take eye drops from a stranger. Her eyes hurt so badly though. She was almost on the verge of gouging her own eyes out from the pain.

Besides, Cassie figured if they had wanted to kill them, they would have done it by now.

Or at least she hoped that was the case.

Cassie's shaking hand slowly reached out and took the bottle, eyed it carefully, and then tilted her head back to drop some in.

Relief washed over her mismatched orbs as she blinked rapidly to let her eyes soak in the solution. Her eyes were still uncomfortable, but at least they weren't burning in pain anymore.

"Is that better?" He asked. Cassie slowly nodded and tossed the small container back to him.

"Th-Thank you," She mumbled. He caught the bottle without a glance to it. Cassie was slightly impressed at that amazing hand-eye coordination, something she had never had.

"You're welcome."

He walked away to take the bottle back to the desk, mumbling something as he went. Cassie narrowed her eyes. She hated her hearing problems.

"W-What did you say?" She asked. He turned back around and started towards her again. She saw his slightly frustrated look. He must not like repeating himself.

"Your injuries were pretty simple, except for your eyes. I cleaned up your wrists and wrapped them up again. And your eyes will heal on their own; you can take those eye drops when you feel discomfort though."

"Oh. Thank you," Cassie replied. He nodded. "S-Sorry. I have bad hearing."

He looked at her in confusion. "Bad hearing? You're like, 14?"

Her lip tugged up in a small smile. "I'm 16."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He replied awkwardly. "Why do you have bad hearing? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"I have W-Waardenburg syndrome. Do you know what that is?" Cassie questioned. He seemed to know a lot about medical things, maybe he would know about her condition.

"I've read some things on it," He nodded slowly. "Enlighten me some?"

"Waardenburg syndrome is a group of genetic conditions that can cause hearing loss and changes in pigmentation of the skin, eyes, or hair. Thankfully, my eyes are the only thing that are discolored. One's blue and one's green," By talking about her disease, Cassie felt somewhat closer to the turtle-man. Slowly but surely, she was warming up to him. And luckily, her stutter was starting to disappear now that she was easing up.

He looked puzzled. "Is that the reason you were locked away in a lab?"

Cassie solemnly nodded.

"So, why was she in there?" He asked and pointed to Liza.

"Liza has hyperthymesia. She's one of 21 people known to have this condition. She can remember any day of her life from age 11," Cassie shrugged. His eyes grew wide in shock, but Cassie ignored it. She looked over to her unconscious friend. "How is she?"

"Good. All she had were scraped up knees and some rope burns on her wrists. She'll be fine," He assured her. Cassie looked down at her hands in her lap.

"So, you are really trying to help us?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Why?"

He paused for a moment at her question, contemplating what to say.

"We help innocent people. It's what we do," He shrugged.

In the silence between the two, Cassie's stomach let out a loud growl, causing her to grab it in hopes to quiet it.

"C'mon. I'm sure Mikey had something made by now. Part of what's making you sick is that you're malnourished. They didn't feed you too well, did they?" Cassie shook her head. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

"Is Mikey the one that was here earlier?" Cassie asked as she slowly hopped down from the lab table. He nodded.

"He's my youngest brother, and a great cook."

Cassie kept her arms wrapped around her stomach as it kept growling at her. She found herself looking off towards Liza's direction and hesitating while the turtle-man spoke to her.

"She'll be okay. We'll have her eat when she wakes up too," He assured her when he saw her lost expression. Cassie nodded but still hesitated.

"This will be the first time in almost a year and a half that I haven't been by her side," Cassie pondered aloud. She was too out of it to notice the sympathetic look that the turtle gave her.

"It'll be okay. We're just going in the other room," He reassured her. He carefully and slowly approached the small girl and put a cautious hand on her shoulder. Cassie flinched away at first. She didn't like to be touched. Although soon she just gave in and let the turtle-man lead her out of the room.

* * *

"Just be nice to them Raph. From what it looks like, they've been through a very traumatic experience. That one girl couldn't even open her eyes."

"Donny said her name is Cassie," Mikey piped up with a grin as he stirred a pan of scrambled eggs.

"_Donny said her name is Cassie,_" Raph mocked in a bad imitation of the youngest's voice. Mikey glared at him and then went back to cooking. "Leo, Mastah Splintah is gonna be pissed when he finds out that we brought two random girls back to the lair."

Leo crossed his arms. "Since when do you care about that Raph? You do stuff all the time to make him mad."

"Somethin' just don't feel right about 'em." Raph retorted.

"Feel free to eat as much as you want. We won't judge, I promise," A voice, identifiable as their purple-clad brother, came into hearing distance.

"Okay." A small, feminine voice replied.

"Dudes! It's Cassie! Be cool!" Mikey commanded. He rushed over to the cabinet to get her a plate and a cup for her food. He tossed it on the table and quickly went to grab the food.

"This is the kitchen," Donny rounded the corner with a small girl in tow. She had her arms self-consciously around her stomach as her eyes darted from object to object in the kitchen. Mikey noticed her eyes were red and puffed up, probably from the crazy stuff they did to her in that lab though. Donny explained to him that none of it was good, so Mikey didn't ask for further details. "And these are my charming brothers," Donny added sarcastically as the rest of the Hamato clan came into view.

"Hello," Leo stepped forward. He extended his hand for a handshake but she just stared at his hand. Leo looked up to see Donny furiously shaking his head. This made Leo pull back his hand awkwardly. "Um, I'm Leonardo. Leo for short though. Nice to meet you Cassie. We're glad you and your friend are safe."

"Liza." Cassie replied in a small voice.

"Pardon me?"

"Her name's Liza."

Leo nodded. "Noted. Thank you."

"This is my trouble-maker of a brother Raphael," Donny continued and pointed over to his red-clad brother. Raph crossed his arms and just gave Cassie a head nod.

"Call me Raph." Raph grunted. Cassie looked slightly frightened, but only for a minute.

"Hi! I'm Mikey!" A new face bounced in front of her. Cassie jumped in fright. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," He laughed lightly and gave her an apologetic grin.

Cassie recognized the voice.

"Y-You're the one who saved me from falling, right?" She asked quietly.

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"

"This is the youngest, Cassie. Michelangelo. I apologize in advance for anything he does in the future," Donny commented. Mikey gave him a harsh look while Cassie looked Mikey cautiously.

"Hi Mikey," She muttered aimlessly. Her eyes soon roamed around him to the food on the table and her mouth began to water when she saw it. Mikey saw this and grabbed her hand, making her jump and dragging her to the table.

"I hope you like eggs and bacon! And I made some biscuits and gravy if you want that too. But we have cereal too," Mikey told her. Cassie was barely listening to him though. She gently sat down at the table and started to fill the plate set before her. "Do you want something to drink? We have milk." Cassie nodded enthusiastically and the smiling mutant went to get her some. Cassie said a mental prayer before chowing down on her food. At the taste of the buttery biscuits and thick gravy, she melted.

"This is so good," She groaned. Mikey came back over and sat her glass in front of her. "Thank you so much, Mikey."

"No problem! I'm glad you enjoy it!" He grinned widely; he sat next to her and soon began to eat with her, as did the other turtles.

The five ate in silence for the longest time. Cassie hated uncomfortable silences.

"Um," Cassie started. "Thank you so much for helping us. I didn't think we'd make it out of there."

"It was no problem at all Cassie," Leo replied with a small smile, then took a sip of his milk.

"How long were you guys in there?" Mikey suddenly asked.

Cassie tensed up at the question.

"Mikey," Donny harshly whispered across the table, bitterly setting down his fork. "Remember what we talked about."

"Ops. Sorry Cassie," Mikey frowned, his face falling with his lips.

The silence resumed.

"15 months."

The turtles looked up, shocked and somewhat confused.

"What?" Donny inquired.

"I was there for 15 months. Liza was there for about 21 months though," Cassie shrugged.

"Wow, almost two years…" Leo wondered.

"I'm so sorry that happened Cassie," Mikey gave a sad expression to the girl. Cassie just sighed.

"It's not your fault."

Before any more questions could be asked, a frustrated scream echoed from Donny's lab.

* * *

**Liza's up! Hopefully she doesn't freak out too much. She's definitely more EXPRESSIVE than Cassie is...**

**Mikey saved Cassie! I was trying to hint at that by making the rescuer sound like Mikey! Hope I did it well!**

**Master Splinter doesn't know about the girls yet... uh oh! **

**What do you guys think will happen next? What do you guys think of Cassie and Liza? Feel free to review! I LOVE hearing from you guys! :)**

**Thank you so much to those who have read and reviewed and favorited and followed and all of that good stuff! REMEMBER: Reviews fuel my writing fire guys! The more reviews I get, the more likely I am to update in a timely manner!**

**See you guys soon! **

**REMEMBER TO REVIEW! Please and thank you! :3**

**CC**


	4. Confrontation

**I'm back! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT, just my OCs.**

* * *

Chapter 4

"How could you let them get away!?" A livid voice bellowed. The small woman standing in front of her boss flinched at the rage in his voice. "We were getting so close to cracking the secrets of their mutations, and now they're gone!"

She cleared her throat. "If I may sir, I'm starting to believe that keeping the two locked away like this is very bad for their health. They very well could – "

"I don't pay you to believe, now do I, Ramirez?" The slender man shot at her. The woman flinched again and quickly looked around the room, trying to avoid eye contact with the raged man.

"N-No sir, you do not," She muttered.

He sneered at her and quickly turned around, letting his back face her. "I want all units on lookout for the two. Get their pictures and subject numbers out to every employee in this building."

"Yes sir."

"And Ramirez," He turned around to face her, slowly peeling off his dark glasses to glare at the young woman. "Don't ever fail me again. Or I will be forced to take… unreasonable actions."

"Y-Yes sir, Agent Bishop."

* * *

Before Cassie could even realize what was going on, all four of the turtles shot up out of their seats and took off towards the direction of the lab. Cassie was soon following them to figure out what happened.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Cassie heard a voice scream. She smiled recognizing the voice as Liza's. She also realized that she had to make it to the lab very quickly or Liza might have a panic attack at not seeing her younger friend in the room with her.

Cassie rounded the corner into the lab and saw a slightly funny, slightly terrifying scene laid out before her.

Mikey, Leo, and Raph were backed up as far away as they could be without being out of the room. They stared in shock at the girl perched on the table and frozen in a fear, eyes wide and teeth clenched. Donny was closer to Liza holding up hands and trying to calm her like he did with Cassie, but Liza stared wildly at him and held out a pen from the desk as if it were some sort of a weapon.

"Liza, please, calm down and we'll explain," Donny replied.

"Where the hell is Cassie? And how do you know my name?" Liza growled shakily.

"Liza!" Cassie grinned and ran towards her friend.

Liza looked over in shock at the person approaching her. Cassie hauled her down from the lab table and hugged her fiercely.

"Cassie?!" Liza gasped in surprise. Within a few seconds, she returned the hug. "Are you okay? What did they do to you?" Liza pulled her friend away and started to look over her for any sign of distress.

"They haven't done anything to me," Cassie replied. "They've helped both of us actually."

Liza gave her a puzzled look. Cassie pointed down to her knees, making the brunette look down. Liza saw her knees carefully wrapped with gauze, just like her wrists. Just then, the eldest remembered about her friend's eyes.

Liza looked up in worry. "Cassie, how are your eyes?"

Cassie shrugged. "They're okay. Donny said there was no permanent damage to them, but they'll be sore for a few days."

"Who's Donny?"

Cassie turned and pointed to the Donny. Donny gave a small smile and a slight wave. He decided that was the wrong move though when he saw Liza glare at him.

"What are they?" Liza asked Cassie in a low, menacing whisper.

Cassie opened her mouth to answer, but then realized that she herself didn't even know the answer to that question.

"Umm…" Cassie looked to Donny for help. The turtle nodded back at her and lowered his hands, now standing in a casual position.

"We're mutant turtles," He said simply, as if that explained everything. Cassie and Liza exchanged confused glances before giving a puzzled look at Donny. Cassie stared at him with wide eyes and a puzzled expression, silently pleading for him to find words because of the glare that her friend was sending the turtle.

"How about," Leo suddenly stepped towards the two. Liza jumped and took a step back as he approached, still holding the pen with white knuckles. Cassie put a reassuring hand on her tensed shoulder. Leo put his arms up in defense, the same as Donny had. "How about we go get you something to eat first, Liza? Then we can explain." He suggested.

Liza's stomach growled loudly at the mention of food, causing her to grab it, but despite that she still managed to say, "I'm not hungry."

"Not hungry, my ass," Raph muttered. "Just come eat."

Liza furrowed her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes at him. Donny and Leo looked desperately at Cassie to help.

"Liza, the food is really good. Mikey made it," She stated calmly, pointing over to the orange-clad turtle, who waved as his name was mentioned. "Just please, come eat. Donny said we're very malnourished."

Liza's pale emerald eyes flashed back and forth between her best friend and the new… mutants. Liza couldn't decide if the turtles were a threat or not. She wanted to believe that they were and that she and Cassie needed to get out of there as soon as possible, but as soon as the one called Donny mentioned the word 'mutant', Liza began to think. What if they were just genetic rejects like herself and Cassie? Was it really fair to treat them like freaks if Liza was just as much of a freak?

Liza sighed and dropped the pen in her hand.

Cassie pushed her friend out of the lab and towards the kitchen, giving the turtles hand motions to tell them to keep their distance from her friend.

Liza admired the big, open room in which she was being pushed into.

The TV, along with some bean bag chairs and a shelf filled with DVDs, sat in a small lowered area in the middle of the room. The walls were bricked and pipes ran out of every empty corner they could find. The overall ambiance of the room was dark. Only a few lights were spread throughout the living area. In the scattered areas around the TV set, there was workout equipment. A punching dummy with a few weapons lodged in it, a weight lifting set, and one of those wooden spin posts that Liza saw in just about every ninja movie.

To her right, she saw turnstiles. Beyond the turnstiles laid railroad tracks and more darkness.

Cassie continued to push her throughout the "house" until they came to a small room which appeared to be a kitchen. There was an island in the middle with chairs surrounding it, probably acting as a dining table. Overall, the kitchen looked pretty clean. And Liza admired that there was more light in that one room than there was in the other larger room. Made sense.

Cassie and Liza took a seat at the island. Cassie resumed eating her breakfast while she calmly watched Mikey serve Liza some. Mikey slid the plate towards the brunette, but all she did was eye it like it was a threat.

"Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it, dudette! I'm the best chef this side of the sewer system!" Mikey grinned at her, trying to lighten the mood. Cassie gave him a small, warm smile, but Liza remained impartial.

After a few encouraging words from Cassie, she decided to try it. Liza took a small bite of her bacon to decide if it was good or not.

In all honesty, Liza could care less if it tasted good or not. At this point, food was food, but she wasn't going to let her guard down around these mutants just yet.

Liza soon unknowingly let out a satisfied moan and quickly devoured the rest of her meat. Cassie nodded her head in approval before continuing her meal.

"So, you wanted to know what we are, correct?" Leo asked as he took a seat next to Liza. The girl flinched a bit at the sudden nearness, but seemed too caught up in the food to honestly care.

Cassie gave Leo a small nod.

"Well, where to begin?" Leo chuckled lightly. He then went into the long story of how they had come to be. He explained the Utrom technology and the mutagen that made them what they were. He explained their master in satisfying detail so that their sensei wouldn't scare them as much when he met them. As Donny, Raph, and Mikey added their own comments to the story line, Leo watched the girls carefully.

Cassie's facial expressions would change with every detail of the story. Her mismatched orbs would show sympathy, excitement, and anger all in a few seconds. Leo could feel that she was still unsure of them. He could see how tensed she still was, though not as tensed as Liza. Leo knew and related to what Cassie was doing. Even though she was still unsure of her surroundings, and maybe even still scared, she was putting on a brave face for Liza.

Liza was a completely different story. Her expression stayed stoic throughout their explanation. Leo noticed her knuckles turn white around her fork as she ate. She thoroughly examined the entire kitchen and no doubt had an exit strategy planned out in her head if anything went wrong. She really didn't even seem to be paying any attention to the explanation she had asked for.

"That's… incredible," Cassie wondered aloud.

"So, you're ninjas?" Liza eyed them carefully. Each of the brothers answered with a nod of some sorts. Mikey with an enthusiastic, speedy nod and Raph with a curt nod, while Leo and Donny just calmly nodded. "Okay…"

"Ya don't believe us?" Raph scoffed at her.

Liza narrowed her emerald orbs at him. "It's not that I don't believe you, I'm just finding this all a bit farfetched, that's all."

Raph looks at her in shocked disbelief. "Yer standin' in front of four MUTATED TURTLES and ya jus' find our backstory hard ta believe!?"

"Ya know what? I don't have to explain myself to you!" Liza counters in a rage as she stands, glaring at the red masked turtle. "Who do you think you are anyways!?"

"The person who saved yer sweet keister! So ya better be somewhat grateful! We coulda jus' left ya there!" Raph retorts, leaning across the counter to glare right back at her.

Liza flinches and Raph grins, knowing he hit a soft spot. Leo and Donny shot Raph a hard glare while Mikey and Cassie exchange worried glances. Liza looks back up and meets Raph's eyes for a few minutes before looking away again. Raph felt a tinge of guilt hit him for a brief second, but then it vanished.

Liza grabbed Cassie's wrist and hauled her off of her seat. "C'mon. We're leaving."

"What!?" Cassie gasped as she was dragged out of the kitchen by her friend. The turtles glanced at one another before quickly following after them. "Liza, we have nowhere to go!"

"We'll find something."

"Liza, please be reasonable…" Cassie groaned.

"Yeah! Raph didn't mean to be a complete jerk! It's just the way his personality works!" Mikey called after the eldest girl.

"'Ey!"

"Liza, please reconsider. It's going to be winter soon. It's too cold to stay out on the streets," Leo tried to reason.

"We'll make due," Liza growled through gritted teeth. "Thank you for your help, but we can take it from here." She turned around briefly to shoot Raph another vicious glare. "Was that grateful enough?"

Before he could respond with a witty remark, she continued to drag Cassie to the turnstiles. Cassie gave the turtles a concerned look before willingly deciding to follow her friend.

Within seconds, they were gone.

"Wait to go, Raph!" Mikey threw his hands up in frustration. "You just _had_ to pick a fight, didn't you?"

"'Ey, she was asking for it!"

Leo pinched the bridge of his beak, trying to contain his own anger. "Did you really not understand when Donny tried to explain their emotional states to us or did you just choose to ignore it?"

Raph shrugged.

"Leo, I'm worried about them. Whoever had them locked up is sure to be looking for them. You don't just keep somebody locked up that long and then not try to find them when they escape. They obviously needed the girls for a purpose," Donny sighed.

"I agree. Let's follow them. Raph can apologize and we can at least make sure they're safe tonight," Leo ordered. Donny and Mikey nodded in agreement. Before Raph could voice his opinion, his brothers were already high-tailing it out of the lair.

* * *

"Can you honestly believe the nerve of him!?" Liza fumed. Cassie remained silent as she followed her friend through the dark sewer system. Liza kept ranting to Cassie, but the strawberry blonde didn't say one word. While her friend was focused on proving the girls could make it on their own, Cassie was busy coming up with a way they could make it through the night.

"Look, there's a manhole," Cassie muttered and pointed. Liza looked up to see a grimy ladder that led up to a beautiful moonlit night. She could feel the chilly breeze flowing down from it. Sadly, their confinement suits weren't the warmest things to be wearing.

Cassie stared up at the moonlight. She had forgotten how brilliant it was. Almost as bright as the sun in her opinion. It lit the dark sewer up with a faint blue light, making the dirty place seem almost magical.

"C'mon, let's head up," Liza said. Cassie nodded and followed Liza over to the rusted ladder. "I'll go up first and see if the coast is clear."

"Okay. Be careful. Don't cut yourself on the ladder."

Liza nodded before carefully climbing up to the surface. With one big heave, she pushed the manhole cover out of the way, letting even more light in as it was moved. Liza squinted at the brightness of the moon before looking around the alley they were in.

The alley was somewhere on Manson street, Liza could tell by the poker themed bar across the street. Her memory soon reminded her that she was in the alley in between a pet shop and a pizzeria.

She remembered going to that pizzeria with her father once when she was 13. June 15th of 2008. He had cracked a funny joke about the queen of hearts logo on the bar's sign. He had said that her nose was too small, so it made her face look disfigured in the night.

"Liza? Are you okay?"

Liza blinked a few times to shake herself from the memory before pulling herself out of the manhole.

"I'm good. Come on up," She yelled down. Cassie was up with her in a few seconds. Liza returned the manhole cover and the two sat in the alley for a minute.

"What do we do next?" Cassie inquired, rubbing her already chilled hands together for warmth.

"Well," Liza started. She looked around the alley cautiously. "I guess we can go try to find a homeless shelter."

Cassie shook her head. "Liza, its three a.m.," She reminded her. "None of them will be open this early."

Liza's lips formed together in a flat line. In the corner of her eye she spotted a clothing donation bin. She soon stood and hauled Cassie up with her. "Well, until they're open, we'll just have to stay here."

"Liza…" Cassie groaned.

"C'mon, let's go dig for some blankets."

"Can't we just go back to the turtles?" Cassie whined. "Other than Raph, they really aren't that bad. And they saved us."

"'Ey! I'm not a bad guy!" A voice proclaimed from the shadows behind them. The two girls turned around quickly and cautiously searched the alley.

"Wait to blow our cover, Raph!" Another voice barked. Liza soon rolled her eyes and continued to the clothing bin.

Cassie remained where she was as she watched the turtles emerge from the darkness.

She smiled. "I'm glad to see you guys."

"Liza," Leo started towards the brunette. "Raph's really sorry about the way he treated you. Aren't you Raph?"

Raph stood back with his arms crossed, not saying a word. Donny elbowed him in the arms though and that made him shift his weight uncomfortably.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"See?" Leo gave her a small grin.

Liza, who was still digging through the bin, brought out a worn, cream-colored blanket. She tossed it towards Cassie, who didn't make an effort to catch it so it just landed on the ground in front of her.

"Okay," Liza finally said.

Raph perked up and scowled at her. "_Okay?_"

"Okay," Liza repeated with a single nod.

"We came all the way here – " Raph started, but was soon silenced by his two younger brothers.

"Liza, it's really not good for you and Cassie to be out in this cold. We can't have you catching pneumonia along with all of your other injuries, can we?" Donny coaxed. Liza looked over at him for a second. Cassie soon blocked her view of him. She slowly approached her friend.

"Liza, I don't want to stay out here. Please, can we go back?" Cassie begged.

Liza glanced around to each person in the alley with her. Her eyes narrowed at Raph, who glowered back. But once her eyes landed on Cassie's pleading, mismatched ones, she sighed.

"Okay," She slowly nodded. Cassie gave her a small smile. She grabbed her friend's wrist and led her back to the manhole, following the turtles back down into the dark sewers.

* * *

**Raph and Liza have clashing personalities. Probably because they sort of have similar personalities. But there's a reason Liza dislikes Raph so much. You guys shall see sometime soon!**

**I'm thinking next chapter the girls will meet Master Splinter, maybe even Casey and April.**

**Thank you so much to my readers and reviewers! You guys are the best! Keep reviewing por favor! :)**

**Later!**

**CC**


	5. Incubus

**HEY! I have some information for you guys! This story is set in the 2003 universe, right after Turtles Forever. April and Casey are married and the turtles lost their lair. I gave them a lair that looks exactly like the lair in the 2012 universe. Hope that clears up some confusion! I'll shut up and let you guys read now! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT, just my OCs.**

* * *

Chapter 5

_Liza was in a bright, white room._

_This room reminded her of the room she and Cassie were kept in. But instead of there being furniture lining the walls, there was only a single lab table in the middle of the room. _

_Liza looked down at her body. She looked severely anorexic. She could see her hip bones and rib cage popping out from her white, numbered jumpsuit. Her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail that was so tight it was giving her a headache. _

_Liza looked around the barren room for any sign of life. There was nothing. All she could find was that lab table. _

"_Liza…" A voice croaked in agony. Liza's head flashed around. The voice sounded distant and in so much pain. What scared Liza the most though, was that it sounded EXACTLY like Cassie. "Liza…"_

"_Cassie!?" Liza yelled, searching frantically for her friend. "Where are you!?" _

"_Here…" The voice grumbled. Liza turned back towards the table and gasped at what she saw. _

_On the lab table, Cassie appeared. She looked just as thin, maybe even thinner, than Liza. She was so pale, she almost blended into her white jumpsuit, which was covered in dark red blood. Her strawberry blonde curls were limp and lifeless, even looking grey in some areas. Cassie's face twisted into agony as she lay unmoving on the table. _

"_Cassie!" Liza gasped. She ran over to her friend and cautiously looked her over trying to find some way to help her. For some odd reason, she found herself saying, "Cassie, open your eyes, we have to go!"_

"_I… I can't," Cassie's dry voice replied. _

"_Why not?" _

"_They… They took my eyes," Cassie croaked. Liza looked down at her in horror as her friend opened her uninhabited eye sockets and everything went dark._

* * *

Liza woke up unable to control her screams.

Her body was convulsing rapidly. If one didn't know her, they would assume she was having a seizure. Which was what happened next.

"WHAT!?" Mikey screamed at the top of his lungs. Cassie awoke, startled from Mikey's sudden outburst. She was still trying to wake up when Mikey violently shook her. "Cassie! I think Liza's having a seizure! What do we do!?"

Cassie blinked a few times before looking over to her friend, now with her head stuck in between her knees and still viciously shaking. "Mikey, it's okay. She had a bad dream."

"What's wrong?" A voice commanded. Leo and Raph appeared in the living room quickly as Donny shot out of his lab.

Cassie ignored them and walked over to Liza's shaking figure. She slowly kneeled down in front of her.

"Liza's having a bad dream I think," Mikey informed his brothers, his brows furrowed together in worry.

"Liza," Cassie spoke softly. The brunette flinched away, refusing to meet the mismatched eyes looking at her. "Liza, I'm right here. I'm okay. I'm not hurt. Everything's fine."

Liza slowly looked up and examined her surroundings. She looked at each of the turtles in fright before locking eyes with Cassie. Liza slowly nodded.

"It was a nightmare. Everything's okay," Cassie reassured her. She pulled her friend into a much needed hug.

When Cassie and Liza informed the turtles that they were okay with sleeping on the couch, the turtles didn't like it. They offered their beds, but the girls refused. They both claimed that they didn't want to take the beds of their kind hosts, but Cassie knew deep down it was because they wouldn't be able to sleep without being in the same room. Cassie knew Liza had a quirk about waiting for her to be asleep before she could. Cassie also had a quirk. If she went to sleep without the brunette in the same room, she had brutal nightmares.

Much like Liza was having now.

So, the girls opted to sleep on the couch. Mikey volunteered to sit with them to reassure them that they were safe and wouldn't somehow be kidnapped while they slept, since that was how it had happened for Cassie. Mikey was horrified when he learned this. How would it feel to go to sleep one night in your own bed and then wake up and be in some creepy lab? He didn't want to think about it.

With the two girls soon asleep, Leo and Raph went in the kitchen to have a talk about Raph's behavior towards them. Donny retreated to his lab to work on some of his projects. When he had come out of his lab to refill his coffee mug, he heard Leo and Raph bickering with one another. He attempted to calm them, but he could see that it wasn't working. He just grabbed his coffee and went back to his lab thankful that machinery couldn't talk back like his sai-wielding brother.

Liza stopped shaking and just held her head between her knees while breathing deeply. Cassie pet her hair silently. She glanced up at the turtles who all wore worried expressions. Even Raph.

Liza suddenly stood and started walking towards the turnstiles. "I need some air," Was all she said.

Before the turtles could go after her, Cassie held her hand up to them, telling them to stop. As soon as Liza was out of earshot, Cassie explained. "She needs this. Her nightmares… well, they can be very brutal. Very vivid."

The turtles exchanged glances between one another.

"What does she have nightmares of?" Mikey asked cautiously, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the details or not.

Cassie sighed and looked down as she played with her hands. "Our torture. Our captivity. Sometimes she dreams about me being severely injured. It depends."

"Well, we can't just let her go. People could still be looking for you guys," Donny reminded her.

"I'll go follow her. Just in case," Leo replied. Cassie gave him an unsure look, but he held his hands up. "She won't know I'm there unless it's absolutely necessary." After a few silent seconds, Cassie finally nodded.

With Leo gone, Raph took the time off from arguing to head to the dojo. Donny looked over Cassie's wounds and administered her more eye drops before heading back to his lab.

The silence around Mikey and Cassie suffocated her.

"Hey, Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you guys happen to have fresh clothes? I-I've been in this thing for a week," Cassie laughed lightly as she tugged the tight collar away from her neck. She hated her white jumpsuit.

Mikey gave her a thoughtful face. "Hm. We might," He jumped up and grabbed her hand, dragging her along with him as he went to the bathroom's small closet. He dug around until he let out a satisfied, "Ah ha!"

He pulled out a pair of jeans and a purple crop top. "Our friend April leaves her stuff here all the time. I don't think she would mind if you borrowed it."

Cassie smiled and took the clothes gratefully. "Thank you."

"Do you wanna take a shower?" Mikey questioned.

"Um. What?" Cassie blinked in confusion.

A blush crossed the orange-clad ninja's face. "Not like, with me, but just in general! I've noticed you're a bit dirty and I thought you'd like to be clean! Not that you're disgusting or anything, it's just… holy shell, is it hot in here?" Mikey started to fan his face.

Cassie blinked a few more times, unsure of what was happening. "A shower would be good."

"Okay!" Mikey nodded, quickly. "I'll show you how to work it," Mikey welcomed the change in subject and rapidly demonstrated how the shower worked. He showed Cassie where the towels were and then quickly left, slamming the bathroom door behind him.

"Smooth, Michelangelo. Very smooth," He sighed to himself. Mikey heard the shower turn on in the bathroom and decided that standing outside of the bathroom while Cassie was showering was super creepy. He walked off to his room to go get some more sleep.

* * *

Liza had made it out of the sewer okay. She remembered the path she and Cassie had taken and where it had lead. She even remembered a fire escape in that alley.

As soon as she was up on the surface, she inhaled deeply. She walked over to the fire escape and started to climb up.

Liza got to the roof of the two story building and stood there for a while. After a minute or two, she decided to sit on the edge of the building and dangle her feet off of the side.

Her mind began to wander. Bad things happened when her mind wandered. It was like all the filing cabinets with her memories in them just tipped over in a domino effect and spilled their contents out into a big blender and then someone hit the 'liquefy' button, mushing all of her memories together. She grabbed her head, trying to subside the pain.

Winning the 8th grade spelling bee. The day her doctor had told her she had hyperthymesia. The first time her dad took her to a PG-13 movie. An A+ on her geometry exam. They horrifying 'birds and bees' talk from her dad when she was 12. The day she met Cassie. The rumors that flooded around school about her. Her first memory test at the lab. The picture of her mom she kept on her bedside table. The horrible call she had gotten during school one day about her dad. The funeral. The day she was kidnapped. Her horrible uncle gaining custody of her for a few months…

Liza wasn't stupid. She knew the reason she didn't like Raphael. He acted, even sounded, so much like _him…_

Liza's mind went back into a jumble. She had learned to just let this happen. Sometimes, when her body was under a lot of stress or her emotional state wasn't all happy and giddy, this would happen. It was her version of a mental breakdown. No matter how painful the memory, she had to just let them run their course. It was as if they were tired of being cooped up in her mental filing cabinets and just needed to get out and stretch their legs. They would run ramped for a while, but always fall back in to place within a few minutes.

This scared Liza though. What if one day her memories never went back into place? What if she went insane? What if she was taken to a mental hospital and put in one of those strait jackets because of how crazy she was?

These thoughts haunted Liza every day of her life.

A strong gust of cold November wind blew past Liza, sending a shiver down her spine. Liza looked down at her wrist watch and decided she should head back to Cassie before the girl worried.

Liza quickly made her way back down to the manhole and into the sewer. She wrapped her arms around herself as she felt the temperature dropped.

Liza kept her pace, even quickened a bit. She kept looking around the darkness but obviously couldn't see anything. She just felt like someone was watching her.

She made her way through the turnstiles and went to sit on the couch.

"Are you feeling better?" A small voice piped up behind her. Cassie walked over and jumped down into the pit, taking a seat next to her friend. Liza noticed Cassie smelt fresh. She looked over to see her friend in new clothes and braiding her damp hair over her shoulder.

"I'm fine," Liza nodded. "You shower?"

"Yeah. You can too if you want. There's one more pair of clothes in the bathroom," Cassie gave her a slight smile. She stood and tugged Liza up with her. "You'll probably feel better after a shower."

Cassie got her friend in the shower and then left her. She walked back into the living area to find Leo sitting on the couch, watching a historical documentary. Cassie went to join him.

"How was she?" She asked.

Leo shrugged. "She didn't do anything. She just sat on the ledge of a building and stared off into space."

Cassie sighed. "I was afraid of that."

Before Leo could ask why, the noise of turnstiles in motion directed their attention to the entrance of the lair.

"'Ey Leo!" A large man with black hair and bright blue eyes called. A small woman soon followed behind him. Her green eyes darted to Leo, giving him a smile, but then rested on the other girl in the room.

"Leo… Who's this?"

* * *

When Liza exited the shower, she quickly dressed in the grey sweats and blue tank top that she was given. Not exactly the best clothes for November weather, but it was definitely better than her jumpsuit. Liza parted her damp hair with her fingers and then used the water from the sink to splash her face.

She exited the bathroom, still wringing drops of water out of her chocolate locks. She was soon greeted by Cassie.

"Feel better?"

Liza gave her a small smile. "Yeah."

"Good, because we're about to meet some new people."

"What?"

"Two other human friends of the turtles. These clothes are the woman's," Liza looked down at her attire.

"When are we meeting their master?" Liza asked as she followed Cassie into the other room.

"Donny said he's still away, but he should be back later tonight. He said he was on some sort of trip," Cassie shrugged.

The two girls walked into the living area and found the four turtles and the two humans laughing about something. The red-headed woman gave the two girls a polite smile as she saw them approach. She then stood and walked towards them.

"It's nice to meet you girls," She said, hugging each of them. The two girls stiffened at the contact with the stranger but soon eased up. "I'm April. And this is my husband, Casey."

"'Ey!" The man waved. Liza flinched at his accent. The same as Raph's.

"H-Hello," Cassie smiled politely. "I'm Cassie and this is Liza. Thank you so much for letting us use your clothes."

April looked confused for a second and then nodded in realization. "Those are my clothes from the closet, right?" Cassie nodded. "Of course! They were probably too small for me now anyways. That was almost a year ago when I left them here," She gave the two girls an almost sympathetic look before dragging them over to the couch with her. April resumed her spot next to Casey and Donny while Liza and Cassie took the empty spot between Mikey and Leo.

"So, Donny told me about how unique your eyes are, Cassie. May I see them for myself?" April asked with a small smile. Cassie, who had avoided eye contact the entire time, suddenly looked up at the mention of her orbs. Cassie wasn't prepared to hear April gasp in delight.

"Right?" Donny smiled at her, seeming to comment to some inside conversation of theirs.

"Cassie, you're eyes are gorgeous!" April exclaimed. Cassie looked wide eyed at Liza, who just gave her a smile and a small nod.

"T-Thank you."

Cassie had never heard someone compliment her eyes before. She didn't really know how to react.

"You're welcome," April replied. She directed her attention to Liza. "You girls definitely reacted better than I did at seeing the guys. I fainted. Twice."

"And I just beat the livin' snot outta Raphie boy here," Casey chuckled and brought Raph into a headlock.

"Not tha way I remember it," Raph growled mockingly at his friend.

"Yeah? Well, remember better!" Casey laughed and let his friend go.

The eight people in the room continued conversation. April tried to keep the girls feeling welcome in the lair. She brought up adventures of the turtles, favorite topics of the girls, and even asked about their families, but that topic was shooed away quickly by both teens.

April did learn that Cassie enjoyed photography. She said that it made her feel freedom, and April could understand why. Even though she didn't say anything about it, April was under the impression that during Cassie's imprisonment, the only way she could find anything to take her away from the four walls surrounding her was through a picture, envisioning her life outside of the cage she was left in. April believed the saying, "A picture's worth a thousand words," applied strongly there.

Liza explained her love for reading to the red-head and how she liked classic books, not the new vampire love story, teen heart-throb crap, in her words. She commented that The Princess Bride was one of her favorites. April then added a comment about the movie, but she stopped when she saw Liza's perplexed face. Apparently, Liza had never seen the movie. April then promised her that they would have a movie night soon and watch all of Liza's favorite classics that had been turned into movies.

Currently, Liza was sat crisscrossed in front of April, letting her fish braid her damp hair. Cassie had her legs pulled up to her chest but her eyebrows furrowed in inquiry. She and Donny had gotten on the subject of their mutations.

"So, the mutagen combines the DNA of the original organism and that of the newly introduced cells by the physical contact of the other organism?" Cassie pondered. Donny beamed with excitement while his brothers and Casey exchanged glances.

"Yes!" Donny grinned. "Exactly!" Cassie gave him a small smile. She then noticed the others looking at her.

"What?"

"Where'd that come from Cassie?" Mikey asked, slightly horrified.

"What do you mean?"

"The smart talk!" Mikey replied. A small blush grew on Cassie's face and she looked down at the floor.

"I used to want to be a biology major. I took many biology classes at school until… well, you know," Cassie smiled.

"A biology major, huh?" Donny asked. "That's a broad field. What would you like to focus on?"

"My sons," A new, archaic voice chimed in from over by the turnstiles. Liza couldn't turn her head because of the woman holding her hair, but she saw Cassie's mismatched orbs grow wide along with the turtles as they all stared at the direction the voice came from. Leo quickly broke his gaze and stood.

"Master Splinter, we can explain…" He began.

"My sons," The voice repeated, this time with more force. "The dojo. Now."

* * *

**So yeah! Why does Liza dislike Raph? Will her nightmares haunt her forever? Is remembering everyday of your life a curse or a blessing? Will the girls ever rid themselves of their wretched pasts? **

**ONLY I KNOW THESE ANSWERS! MWAHAHA!**

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing this story! I'm working hard on developing this story into something great, so if you guys have any tips or suggestions, feel free to PM me! **

**One of these days I'll put up a poll to decide which girl ends up with which turtle. I have an idea on the pairings, but I'm still unsure. As you can tell, Mikey has a small crush on Cassie, but that's mostly because this is one of the first girls his age he has ever come in contact with. Besides, we all know Mikey has a flirtatious side! :3**

**Until next time!**

**CC**


	6. Recall

**I'm back guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

* * *

Chapter 6

The four turtles sat on their knees, eyeing the ground as they waited for their sensei to leave his room and begin their lecture.

The grey-haired rat stepped silently out of the room and into the dojo, slowly closing the paper door to his room behind him. He took a firm grip on his cane and then walked over to his four sons.

"I would like an explanation, please," He started.

His four sons stayed silent as they looked at each other. Then, the three youngest looked to their leader.

Leo blinked a few times before looking up to the scrutinizing eyes of his sensei.

"We were out on patrol last night and we found them trying to escape a building. We helped and they were badly injured. They both have… mutations of sorts. They were locked away for months before attempting to escape. They wouldn't have made it if we didn't help. Donny told us that by the looks of their injuries they had been tortured. We couldn't take them to the hospital and risk them being sent back. We didn't know what else to do, father."

Leo had seen his master's face soften as her heard the strange tale of the girls. He looked off towards the direction of the living room before turning back to his sons.

"You mentioned mutations, my son? They appear to be normal to my eyes," Splinter replied. Leo looked towards Donny to explain next.

"They have certain genetic conditions that could be considered a form of mutation, Master Splinter," Donny perked up. "Cassie has Waardenburg Syndrome, which causes hearing loss and changes in pigmentation of her eyes. And Liza has hyperthymesia. She can remember every day of her life since age 11."

Splinter stroked his white beard as he thought.

"They have no place else to go?" He quizzed.

"They both told April they have bad family lives, but they wouldn't give details," Leo shrugged slightly.

Splinter continued to stroke his beard as he looked into the concerned eyes of his sons. He could tell that even though they had only known the girls for a short amount of time, they were worried for their welfare. Even Raphael seemed anxious.

"Master Splinter," Mikey spoke up, standing a bit on his knees. "They need us to protect them. You always tell us to use our ninja abilities to help people. To treat people better than they would treat us. We did and now these girls have nowhere else to go. And if they did leave, they could risk being taken away again. None of us want that."

Splinter wasn't surprised by his youngest's speech. Michelangelo had always had a heart for others. The rat looked straight into those big baby blue eyes and had to promptly look away. The eyes of his orange-clad son could persuade anything out of him.

"Trust us, sensei, they've already tried goin' solo once. Didn't end too well," Raph piped up.

Splinter looked off into the distance. If what his sons' said were true, they were correct. He couldn't turn away two young people who needed help. He couldn't even turn away four baby turtles covered in green slime 17 years ago…

Splinter then gave his sons a small smile. "I am proud of you, my sons, for helping the helpless. You have done exactly what I have trained you to do and exactly what the Bushido code demands. We will offer our home to these girls and help them back on their feet."

The four teenagers stood and bowed to their sensei with relieved hearts.

"C'mon Master Splinter! You've got to meet them! They're awesome!" Mikey then said and grabbed his father's paw, pulling him off with him.

"Michelangelo! Please slow down!" Master Splinter gasped. As they neared the living room, Splinter could see the two new faces sitting on the couch having a serious conversation with Casey and April.

The brunette shook her head. "We couldn't ask that of you, April."

April gave her a kind smile before waving it off. "You didn't ask."

"What's going on?" Leo asked as they neared.

"I'm taking the girls to the apartment and some stores tomorrow. I have some clothes I was going to give to Goodwill because they're too small. I figure the girls can get some use out of them though. They also need a few hygienic items if they're going to stay here," April replied. At the sight of their rat father, Leo saw Cassie's eyes widen and she quickly stood, nervously straightening out her pants to make herself more presentable. Liza followed her, but didn't look as surprised. Master Splinter walked over to the girls, giving them a warm smile so that they weren't frightened.

"Hello girls," He said, bowing. Cassie looked to Leo for help. Leo bowed at her, showing her that it was customary as a greeting. Both girls followed his example. "I am Master Splinter. The boys' father and sensei in ninjitsu. Welcome to our home."

"T-Thank you for allowing us to stay. It means a lot to us," Cassie replied in a small voice.

"Yes, thank you," Liza followed.

"It is no problem at all. The two of you may stay as long as you wish," Master Splinter nodded. A short awkwardness arose in the aura of the room. Leo noticed Cassie start fidgeting with her hands.

A small blush rose to Cassie's cheeks as she daintily walked over to the rat. "I apologize. My name's Cassie. Cassie King," She then pointed over to where Liza sat on the couch. "That's Liza Montgomery. Again, thank you so much for letting us into your home."

"You're welcome," Master Splinter smiled. He walked into the dented area that was their living room, followed by his sons, and sat down near Liza. "Cassie and Liza… Beautiful names. Are they short for longer names?" He questioned, trying to make conversation and get to know the two newcomers at the same time.

"Well, my full name is Cassidee Teagan," Cassie smiled gently. She then nodded towards Liza. "Liza's full name is Elizabeth Rose. But she likes being called Liza more. I, personally, don't care."

"Well, Master Splinter has a habit of calling everyone by their full names, so be ready for that! I hear 'Michelangelo' at least 20 times a day!" Mikey laughed.

Between the conversations going on around him, Splinter was busy assessing the personalities of their new guests. Even though he had chosen to take the two in, didn't mean that he wasn't keeping an eye on them. After all, a father only wants what's best for his family. Splinter had to make sure the two girls would be of no threat to his sons.

Cassidee had a very vibrant aura surrounding her; Splinter could tell that by just walking into the same room as her. Her spirits, though harshly torn and broken here and there, were busy mending themselves. He could tell she possessed a very gentle and loving personality behind all the pain and discomfort of the past. Even though she stuttered from time to time and couldn't keep eye contact with him, he could sense that behind the stammering girl laid a cheerful, confidant woman.

Elizabeth was another story. Splinter sensed hostility surrounding her, as if she was still questioning her agreement to stay with them. On the outside, she looked perfectly calm and collect, but her eyes fluttering in every direction told Splinter she was still unsure of his family. Most of her resentment seemed to be towards Raphael. Every time he would speak or laugh or make the slightest of movements, she would jump or glare. The same happened when Casey spoke up. It was as if she was afraid of them. But the brunette held herself together.

Splinter sensed a long, painful history about her. But she reminded Splinter of someone he once knew…

His Master Yoshi.

Both humans had strong spirits. Elizabeth, much like Splinter's master, held a firm loyalty to her family, which consisted of the strawberry blonde beside her. Splinter's heart broke at the realization that she had built up her walls so high, it was impossible for anyone to reach her strong, passionate spirit.

He could also tell by the slight pain in her eyes that she harnessed a bitter grudge inside of her. To whom, he did not know. But it reminded him of the hatred his Master Yoshi had towards Oroku Saki… And look where that road led him…

Splinter wanted to help her at any cost. He _needed_ to help her.

* * *

_Liza knew it was all over. _

_She let out another painful cry as the researchers upped the frequency of the tone they were firing into her containment unit. _

_Liza had been put in the very small room, only a few feet wide, over an hour ago. They had been testing what different frequencies did to her memory. _

_They had this insane theory that a higher frequency tone would jog her memory faster, making her replies without hesitation._

_They tied her arms behind her back and blindfolded her before they had put her in the small room. They said it was to make sure that there were no different constants in the tests. It was obvious that they tied her hands together so she couldn't cover her ears. _

_This didn't stop her from blocking out the pain though. Liza stuck her head between her knees and used them to block the sounds, but by now, the frequency was so high that it didn't matter. She was convinced all the dogs in New York would come rushing in at any moment. _

"_Up it another notch," That painfully familiar man's voice commanded over the speaker. _

_Liza let out a blood curdling cry as she felt liquid start pouring out of her ears. Red blood ran down her face, staining her white jumpsuit._

_Liza couldn't take it anymore. She was as good as dead._

_Thankfully, before the torture could continue, Liza passed out._

* * *

"Ah," Liza gasped as she sat straight up. Her hands flew to her ears as she checked for any signs of gooey, red liquid running out of them. She let out a sigh when she felt nothing.

She looked over to see Cassie lying comfortably on the couch, her soft snores drowning out the fading sounds of the deadly tone playing in Liza's head.

"It was just a dream, Liza. Just a dream," She coaxed herself.

Liza decided she couldn't go back to sleep. Not after that.

Looking at her wristwatch, she saw it was six in the morning anyways. She might as well get up.

Liza climbed off of the sofa and groggily walked around the dark subway station, stopping for a moment to rub her eyes, and then continuing. Her bare feet froze against the concrete, waking her up quickly though. Liza looked around and saw a dim light coming from the kitchen. Whoever was up might want some company. She knew she did.

Liza tiptoed silently into the kitchen and saw one of the turtles leaning on the counter, sipping on a cup and reading over a newspaper. Liza was amused at how normal that seemed for a six foot talking turtle. She took a closer look but couldn't figure out which brother the turtle was. His mask and padding had been removed and he just had a brown towel draped around his neck, like he just came from a shower.

"You can come in, Liza," The turtle spoke, not even turning to glance her way. By the voice, Liza realized it was Leo.

She sighed, wrapped her arms around herself and then walked into his vision. "How'd you know it was me?" She asked.

"None of my brothers get up this early. Ever. Master Splinter's been meditating in the dojo for the past 30 minutes. You can't just break that level of concentration to come get some food. And Cassie has a lighter footstep than you. You kind of stomp," He gave her a gentle smile.

Liza half smiled with a little scoff. "Sorry. Next time I'll try to be quieter."

He shrugged. "No problem. You weren't bothering me."

Liza scanned the room for something to eat. She opened the fridge but all she saw were boxes of leftover pizza, some milk, eggs, a bag of salad, and a bowl with cubes of watermelon in it. Liza grabbed the bowl and set it on the counter before closing the fridge.

"Would you like some tea?" Leo asked as he set his own cup and paper down.

"Um, sure."

Leo walked over to the stove and started to reheat the kettle of water. He got down a small teacup and a bag of jasmine tea for her. Liza sat in a bar stool and took some bites of the watermelon. She couldn't remember the last time she had the delicious fruit, so she didn't even notice when she moaned at the appetizing taste.

Leo looked back at her and smiled. "Good?"

Liza could only nod her head.

"So, what are you doing up so early?"

Liza shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

She hoped Leo wouldn't press the matter. She wasn't ready to talk to her nightmares to anyone. Not even Cassie. The whole experiment with the frequencies had happened months before Cassie had arrived. She didn't even have a clue that Liza went through such a horrifying ordeal.

Thankfully, Leo just nodded.

"Why are you up?" Liza asked after another bite of fruit.

"I'm always up around this time. We have training around eight, so this is usually my time to clear my head before the day. No brothers to distract me," He chuckled.

"Should… Should I leave then?" She asked cautiously, pointing to the door.

"No, you don't have to. I actually enjoy some company now and then," He said.

Suddenly, the kettle on the stove whistled loudly. Liza's eyes widened and her hands responsively went to her ears.

"Turn it off! Please, turn it off!" She gasped. Leo quickly stopped the noise and carefully looked at Liza.

"It's done, Liza," He said. Liza slowly relaxed, but wouldn't met the chocolate eyes watching her. "Are you okay? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me," Liza defended. "I just… I-I just have this thing about… high pitched noises," The last part came out as more of a whisper.

Leo nodded a bit and, again, didn't push the issue. He made her tea and handed it to her with care. While Liza gently blew on the steam rising from her yellow cup, Leo took a seat by her.

"Sorry," Liza mumbled. "I didn't mean to freak you out."

"It's fine. No harm done," Leo replied, keeping his tone even, but Liza could tell he was now being cautious of her.

The two ate and drank in silence. Occasionally, Leo would bring up a topic in the daily news and Liza would briefly give her opinion on it. He would nod and move on to another story.

Somehow, the silence was… comforting. She appreciated how Leo didn't interrogate her and constantly needed conversation going. Unlike Cassie, who always needed someone saying something or else she would get uncomfortable. The complete opposite of Liza. She cherished the silence and she could tell Leo did to. His quiet time in the morning was of major value to him.

A while passed and two more bodies entered the kitchen. Donny and Master Splinter.

"Ah, good morning, my sons, Elizabeth," He nodded towards each individual.

"Good morning sensei," Donny and Leo replied automatically. Donny went straight towards the kettle to start brewing some water for his coffee and Master Splinter's tea.

"Hey Don," Leo interrupted, standing and walking over to his younger brother. "How about you heat the water in the microwave today?"

Liza blinked while Leo whispered something to the turtle with the mahogany irises. Donny then nodded.

"Good idea, Leo," He replied. Leo casually walked back over to his seat next to Liza as if nothing had happened. He didn't even seem to mind the brunette eyeing him carefully.

"I trust you slept well, Elizabeth?" Master Splinter asked as he took a cup of tea from Donny. The girl in question pealed her eyes away from Leo to look at the old rat.

"Yes sir. I did," Liza lied smoothly.

Leo and Donny looked at her, then each other, not buying her story. But neither of them said anything.

"Excellent, you must have your energy for going out with Mrs. Jones this afternoon," Splinter grinned, sipping his tea periodically.

Leo knew what his father was doing. He might have fooled Liza into thinking he didn't know anything, but in all honesty, Leo knew she was being too transparent to the old rat. Even Leo and Donny could tell something was wrong with the young woman. Master Splinter was just humoring her.

"Oh, yeah," Liza looked down at her hands as they daintily cupped around her mug. She had forgotten that the woman was taking her and Cassie out.

Small, faint footsteps could be heard heading towards the kitchen. Cassie staggered around the corner, still somewhat asleep. Her hair was in knots around her face and a small trail of drool was dried down her mouth. She let out a giant yawn as she stretched her arms in different directions. Liza chuckled. Cassie wasn't a morning person.

"Morning Cassie," Liza spoke.

"Hmm," Cassie moaned. She jumped up into the bar stool next to her friend, starting to mindlessly nibble on watermelon. "Morning."

"Good morning Cassidee," Master Splinter acknowledged. "I trust you slept well, also?"

"Yeah, actually. I did," Cassie sleepily smiled. She accepted a cup of tea from Leo and started to sip. No nightmares, no getting up in the middle of the night. Cassie had slept wonderfully.

Slowly, Liza started to stand. "I'm going to get ready. April said she should be here around eight," The brunette left without another word to her company in the kitchen.

"How long has she been up?" Cassie asked when her friend was out of earshot.

"Since about six," Leo replied casually. Cassie nodded.

"Morning everyone!" A new voice exclaimed. Mikey waltzed into the kitchen with a bright smile on his face.

"Good morning Michelangelo," Master Splinter acknowledged while the other teens mumbled their greetings.

"Anyone want eggs?" Mikey asked as he opened the fridge. "Man, remind me to tell April that we need groceries."

"We can get them today while we're out," Cassie piped up. She stood and took the now empty bowl of watermelon to the sink before smiling at Mikey. "Just send a list."

"You got it dudette," Mikey grinned.

Cassie nodded. "I'm going to get dressed too. Have a nice time training guys."

As she walked out of the kitchen, she didn't even realize that someone had followed her out.

"Cassie?" Leo called. The young woman turned around to face the curious eyes of the eldest turtle.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering what you were going to say about Liza," He questioned.

"What?"

"When she came back yesterday from her time topside. I told you that she just sat there and you said you were afraid of that. Why were you afraid of that exactly?"

Cassie looked at him in confusion. "She does that sometimes when her mind gets in a mess. Back at the lab, they thought she was showing signs of clinical depression. I just want to make sure that it isn't that. If she slipped into a state of depression I highly doubt if anything could bring her back… Why?"

"Oh, nothing. Just curious," Leo replied blankly before allowing Cassie to continue to the bathroom. He stood there for a few seconds before being ushered to the dojo by Mikey.

* * *

**So, we dug some more into Liza's past. Master Splinter met the girls. The next few chapters will be very laid back. I'll be focusing on building the friendships between the characters and my OCs. **

**THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAD READ, REVIEWED, AND SUPPORTED THIS STORY! I never thought it would take off as quickly as it has! I love it! :D**

**raph j: Yes, the diseases the girls have are very real. I did extensive research on them and hope I'm writing them well. :)**

**edeN and TheIncredibleDancingBetty: Thank you both so much for your detailed reviews! It really helps me figure out what I'm doing right and wrong. It makes me feel great as a writer! I'm so glad you're both so impressed with me! :)**

**Until next time guys!**

**CC**


	7. Adapting

**Hey dudes and dudettes! Another chapter coming your way! Hope you all enjoy! ㈴2**

* * *

Chapter 7

"So, I was thinking that besides the obvious necessities that you will need, there are also some other things that could stand to be done. When was the last time you girls had haircuts?" April inquired as she kept her eyes on the road, paying very close attention to the heavy New York City traffic.

Cassie, who sat in the backseat of April's van, eyed her split ends. "Um, a very long time," She concluded.

April nodded. "That's what I thought. "

The three young women sat in the van in silence. Liza sat in the front with April. She peered out the window and took in the daytime of New York City. She remembered it of course, but new sights were everywhere. The donut shop her dad went to almost every morning had been torn down and turned into an apartment building.

Cassie's mismatched orbs carefully took in everything outside of the vehicle. She had been a bit skeptical of their trip today. Not as much as Liza, but Cassie was at least trying to enjoy herself for April's sake. Once they were out of the darkness of the sewers, the girl was amazed at what she saw. She had lived on the more rural outskirts of the city before her abduction, so seeing nothing but buildings every which direction was definitely a new sight.

"Well, um, since you girls need haircuts, I think we should knock that out first, and then we can continue to the mall and shop."

Cassie bit her lip. "April, getting our haircuts is probably going to cost you more money, we don't need it – "

"Cassie, dear, you don't have to worry about money. And besides, I have a friend who's a cosmetologist. She owes me a favor anyways," April smiled at her through the rear view window.

Within a few minutes, April pulled into an alley by an apartment building.

"We're here!" She grinned as she undid her seatbelt. "Oh, and by the way, Angel knows about the guys, so you don't have to worry about keeping their secret around her."

The two girls nodded. Cassie was slightly relieved at the fact that she didn't have to keep the turtles a secret around this Angel woman. She had never been good at keeping secrets.

As soon as they were out of the alley and walking into the apartment building, a young face met them. The woman looked a few years older than Liza, maybe 19. She had light mocha skin and dark, almost black hair highlighted with purple. She greeted April with a hug and shook the hands of the two other girls.

"April, it's so nice to see you. How've ya been?" Angel spoke.

"As good as one can get with keeping track of four teenagers and a husband who acts like one," April laughed.

Angel joined her. "Speaking of the guys, how are they?"

"They're good too. Causing more and more mischief everyday it seems," Cassie and Liza followed April and Angel up a few flights of stairs and to an apartment. Angel got out her key and started to fumble around with the lock.

"Well, make sure you tell them I said hi. I miss them," Angel stated. After finally getting the door open, she ushered the others inside. "It's been way too long."

"I'm sure their feelings are mutual," April nodded. She then moved over to Cassie and Liza. "Angel these are two new guests of the guys. Cassie King and Liza Montgomery."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Any friend of the turtles is a friend of mine," Angel grinned at the girls.

"T-Thank you for doing this," Cassie muttered as she saw the chair and cosmetology tools set up in the kitchen of the apartment.

"No problem at all, really. I love my job, whether I'm getting paid or not. Besides, I owe April a few favors," Angel walked over and started to put her apron on and pulled her hair back. "So, who's first?"

* * *

After about two hours at Angel's, Cassie and Liza emerged with fresh cuts, styles, and even color. Angel had hair dye of all types just lying around her house and offered to touch up the color on the girls' heads.

Cassie chopped of her waist length hair to a nice shoulder-blade length. Angel added some layers to give it more texture, trimmed all the split ends out, and even cut some side swept bangs for the strawberry blonde girl. After a few subtle highlights of blonde, Cassie's hair looked healthier than it had in years.

Liza decided to keep her length at her lower back, but her split ends were trimmed. Before Liza was abducted and taken to the lab, she had dyed her hair a lighter shade of brown than what she naturally had. After 21 months in captivity, the color had grown out and looked very bad in Liza's opinion. Thankfully, Angel fixed it to where her hair looked ombré, a new hairstyle that was "all the rage" in Angel's opinion. Liza liked it well enough.

After the goodbyes and thank yous to Angel were said, the three made their way down the street to April and Casey's apartment.

"I hope we can find some of my old stuff to give you, that way we can focus mainly on other things when we go to the mall," April mumbled as she unlocked the door to the apartment. "I might even have some new bras that you could try, Liza. We look to be about the same size."

"'EY! None of dat girly talk! We're watchin' tha game!" A voice chimed in. Three heads turned to meet five others.

"Casey! What are you guys doing here?" April glared at her husband and the four turtle brothers sitting on every available inch of the sofa.

"I thought ya were gonna be gone all day! I invited tha guys ta watch the hockey playoffs on our new TV!" Casey retorted and gestured to the new 40" TV.

"We can leave if you need us too, April," Leo spoke up and eyed the redhead carefully.

April sighed. "No, no. It's fine. We're just going to be here for a little while anyways. C'mon girls," April led the two over to a small coat closet and pulled out two tubs full of clothes. "Let's take these to my room," Liza and April took the tubs towards the other end of the apartment, stepping in front of the view of the TV for a moment, but making Raph and Casey complain.

"Nice hair Cassie!" Mikey commented as he watched her closely trail the two older women. She stopped abruptly and turned around to face him, giving him a gentle smile.

"T-Thanks," She turned and quickly ran to the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Okay," April said as she pulled the lids off of the tubs. "This one is full of pants I can't wear anymore and then this one is tops. Feel free to just take anything you want. I'll go get us some drinks,"

As soon as the red-head closed the door behind her, Cassie gave a timid smile to her friend.

"I love your hair. It looks really nice on you."

Liza smiled halfheartedly. "Thanks. You too," She then looked at the boxes and sighed. "You wanna go first?"

Cassie just gave her a small nod before reaching into the box of pants and pulling out a few pair. She took them into the master bathroom connected to the bedroom and started to change.

Liza started pulling clothes out of the tubs and sorting them into things that looked like they would fit her, and things that looked like they would fit Cassie.

Liza pulled out a piece of soft, blue fabric. Unfolding it, she saw it was a blue dress of some sorts. It had no sleeves and a small collar towards the neck.

"I found these too. They were in the dryer," April spoke as she walked back into the room. She looked up and saw what Liza had in her hands. She stopped, got quiet, and then a small smile found its way to her face. She dropped the clothes she had brought in next to the tub and went over to Liza.

"It's beautiful," Liza complimented.

"Thanks. It was my moms. She gave it to me as a gift before she passed away,"

Liza felt a pull at her heartstrings. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was years ago. I've made my peace with it now. I think I was 15 when it happened," April confessed. She took it from Liza and rubbed the soft fabric. "She called it an A-line shift dress. She said they were the best dresses to have back when she was a teen. Growing up with seven older sisters, she didn't get one until she was about my age, so she saved it for my older sister Robyn, but my sister isn't really a dress kind of girl. So I got it."

"That's a nice memory to have of her," Liza nodded.

April smiled and handed it back to her. "You should take it. I'm sure it will look lovely on you."

"April, I can't – "

"I didn't want to send it away, but I had no use of it. You could use it though. I would rather it go to someone close to me than a total stranger," April insisted.

"All three pairs of jeans fit me," Cassie spoke as she stepped out of the bathroom.

"Go try on the dress," April pushed Liza up with a sweet smile.

"Dress?" Cassie questioned. Liza held up the piece of blue cloth in her hand and watched as her young friend gasped. "Oh Liza! That's so cute! Try it on!" She ran over to the brunette and hauled her up, shoving her in the bathroom. Liza finally gave in and decided to humor her friends.

Cassie continued to comb through all the clothes and started putting her things into one of the empty boxes. So far she had four pairs of jeans, five blouses, and a pair of red heels, tan boots, and grey running shoes.

"Thank you for doing this April. It really means a lot to us," Cassie told the red-head.

April smiled. "Really Cassie, it's not a problem. I actually enjoy this. Hanging around boys all the time can get tiring. Angel's really the only girl I get to hang out with anymore, and even then it isn't a lot. I'm looking forward to growing closer to the two of you."

Cassie looked down at her lap with a small, sweet grin. "It's been rough for us, so… please, just be patient," April eyed her and then went over to her and wrapped an arm around her cautiously. Cassie started to pull away out of reflex, but she reminded herself that April wouldn't hurt her.

"Take all the time you girls need. Moving on, especially from something as traumatic as you two have went through, doesn't take a day. It takes a lot of little steps to break free of your broken self," April told the younger woman.

Cassie let that sink in before giving April a thankful glance.

"How does it look?" Liza interrupted. She felt a bit awkward in the dress, but then again she hadn't worn one in a very long time. She just watched in amusement as Cassie and April started to squeal in delight.

"That is so cute on you Liza!" Cassie grinned.

"You think? I wasn't too sure because of the blue…"

"No, you look amazing in blue!" April protested.

"You really do!"

A small smirk formed on Liza's face and she held her hand out. "Hand me my pile so I can try them on."

April quickly obeyed and shoved the box towards the brunette, who then disappeared back into the bathroom.

"So, I made up a list of things the two of you will need. I don't think I left anything out, but you might double-check," April mumbled as she tossed a piece of paper towards Cassie

Cassie opened the sheet and quickly glanced through it. Everything the two would need as bathroom items was on the sheet. April seemed to have thought of everything.

"That looks good to me," Cassie nodded her reply and handed the paper back.

A loud shout of defeat echoed throughout the apartment. Cassie slightly smiled when she saw April close her eyes and sigh. Casey and Raph could be heard swearing at the TV.

"Like I said, boys can get tiring,"

"'Ey, babe! Where'd ya hide tha sodas?"

April let out a small laugh. "His doctor told him to cut back on the carbonated beverages. So, I only allow him one per day I've hidden the case someplace he'll never look."

"Where?" Cassie inquired.

"In the same cabinet I keep all the cleaning supplies," The two continued to laugh and April stood to go help her husband.

"Um, April, I don't know how this shirt is supposed to work," Liza called through the bathroom door.

April quizzed the closed door with her eyes. "Oh. Is it that green one?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'm coming," April looked towards Cassie. "Would you mind getting them their drinks? They're in the cabinet under the sink."

"Not at all," Cassie stood quickly and made her way out of the bedroom. She saw the turtles sitting on the couch talking while Casey was completely demolishing the kitchen in search of the drinks. "Casey, go sit down. I'll get them."

Casey gave her a confused, then baffled look. "Wait, you get ta know about tha secret hidin' place but I don't?"

"Sorry, April's orders," Cassie sympathetically shrugged. Casey mumbled something about over protective wives before heading back to the couch.

Cassie found the sodas right in the spot that April told her. After pulling out five and hiding the case again, she took the guys the cans of root beer. Now that the hockey game was over, they had the Xbox turned on and were playing some war game... Call of Duty…?

Cassie didn't even know what that meant.

"Hey Cassie, have you ever played this game before?" Mikey asked as he intently focused on the screen, determined not to let Casey beat him.

Cassie tilted her head a bit to the side. "What is it?"

"Case's new game," Mikey replied. Cassie watched in slight horror as Mikey's little man on his side of the screen put a round of bullets into the head of Casey's person. "YES!"

"DAMN IT MIKEY!" Casey growled.

"Um, no," Cassie mumbled slightly.

Mikey looked up at her with a grin. "You wanna try?" He asked and held out his controller to her.

Cassie eyed it carefully. "I-I've never played something like that before."

"What?" Mikey looked at her with wide eyes. Next thing she knew, she was being pulled down onto the open seat next to Mikey. "You have to try it!"

"I-I'm not too sure about this, Mikey…" Cassie admitted with shy eyes.

"It's great. Case will go easy on you, won't you Casey?"

Casey nodded slyly.

The next match started, but Cassie still had no idea what she was doing. She held the controller in her hands like it was a ticking time bomb.

"Cassie! Okay, use this to move around," Mikey explained as he pointed to the various controls on the controller. Cassie obeyed and her player started to move around while Mikey pointed out different areas to go to. "There ya go! Now, pull the trigger to shoot."

Within a few minutes and some instructions from Mikey, Cassie had a better idea of what was going on.

Cassie chewed on her bottom lip as her eyes glued to the TV screen. She had made it her personal goal to get Casey at least once before the match was over. With 15 seconds left in the round, she didn't know if she could do it.

"Shoot him! C'mon Cassie! Shoot him!" Mikey roared. Cassie's index finger moved over the small trigger at the back of the remote and began to pull it so tightly she thought she would break the thing. She used her other hand's thumb to repeatedly beat on the multi-colored buttons, even though once was probably good enough.

She watched in satisfaction as Casey's figure dropped to the jungle floor.

"YES!" Cassie laughed as she stood, victoriously raising her hands in the air. "I did it!"

Mikey and the others were amused at her excitement and congratulated her, even though Casey had technically won the match.

Mikey couldn't help but realize that that was the first time he had heard Cassie fully laugh. And he loved the sweet, melodious sound of it.

Mikey shook those thoughts from his head. "Dudette! Cassie, you did great!"

"Thanks! That was more fun than I thought it'd be," Cassie smiled.

April and Liza stepped out of the bedroom with the tubs in their hands.

"Thanks for the help putting everything back in boxes, Cassie," Liza smirked.

Cassie let out a small, sheepish grin. "S-Sorry."

"Are you ready to go?" April asked. "We need to get this stuff done before it gets too dark."

Cassie nodded and after saying goodbye to the guys, she followed the two older women downstairs.

* * *

**So, the girls are slowly getting readjusted to society... or are they? They haven't been to a human filled mall yet though... maybe something will happen... or maybe it wont... **

**Only I know theses answers! ㈴2 **

**Thanks to my readers and my sole three reviewers for the last chapter! Everyone else should review! I love hearing feedback on this story! It would mean a lot to me! Thanks! **

**OH, and one more thing...**

**I hope you guys have had a very merry Christmas and have a very happy, blessed new year! ㈴2 ❤**

**CC**


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